Research & impact
Faculty and researchers in our department are involved in projects that promise to have lasting impact in our communities.
Not Just Plug and Play
From Steve Henle and Susan Dinan (along with Megan Marcoux, Janette Barrington, Julia L. Ginsburg, and Sandra Gabriele)
Preparing the next generation of students requires addressing the mismatch between the skills and competencies taught in undergraduate programs and those needed by the labour market. This research project examined the FUSION curriculum comprised of self-directed learning modules on three skills: metacognition, communication, and complex problem solving. The researchers found evidence that FUSION can help students in their internship experience as well as in their daily lives, instilling confidence and equipping them to tackle challenges and accomplish their objectives.
Decolonizing leisure services
From Peter Morden
Recreation and leisure services have served to assimilate persons of differing backgrounds into Western ideals. Recently, though, there has been a push toward decolonizing Canadian leisure services; namely, by increasing their relevance and ontological congruity for Indigenous peoples. As a part of this effort, I have been working toward the development of measurement scales tapping dimensions of Relationality in service provision as well as engagement characterized by the 4 R’s of Respect, Relevance, Responsibility, and Reciprocity (Kirkness & Barnhart, 2001).
Implications of exiting care
From Varda Mann-Feder
Two projects are underway in the department that contribute new findings to the child welfare literature that deals with the situation of youth transitioning to adulthood from government care. These young people have been subject to youth protection intervention because of abuse and neglect and are placed in alternative settings until services end at the age of majority. Youth exiting care face tremendous obstacles as they enter adult life, and are overrepresented among the homeless, the unemployed and populations of adults with serious mental health challenges. Countries across the world have begun to recognize their responsibilities as corporate parents and increasingly turn to research to assist them in creating programs and policies that can help these young people live up to their potential. Two initiatives in Applied Human Sciences have been undertaken in relation to the gaps in current research: a scoping review that maps the implications of care leaving research across Canada since 2013, and an upcoming book to be published by Oxford Press by late 2025 that documents and compares research, practice and policies across 32 countries in the Global South and Global North.
Leisure & mental health
From Shawn Wilkinson
My research focuses primarily on the role that leisure participation, leisure education and physical activity play in the lives of persons with mental health problems. Current research collaborations and projects center around: (a) enhancing the leisure and physical activity participation of persons with traumatic brain injury living in the community and (b) enhancing the social skills and leisure participation of children with ADHD and their families.
Paternal youth-care strategies
From Patti Ranahan
Evidence-based parenting interventions for caregivers of youth experiencing mental health challenges are effective in strengthening attachment security, building parents' reflective capacity, and reducing internalizing and externalizing behaviours. However, fathers' participation in parenting interventions remains quite limited. My work involves designing, implementing and evaluating tailored engagement strategies so more dads can benefit from these interventions.
Psychosocial repercussions of perinatal death
From Rosemary Reilly and Rosa Caporicci
Every year, almost 100,000 Canadian couples experience a perinatal death, whether early (first 20 weeks of pregnancy) or late (between 21 weeks of pregnancy and the baby's first six weeks of life). Despite the prevalence of this type of death and its psychosocial repercussions, there are shortcomings in support services for couples following a perinatal death. The aim of The (Un)Expected Project is to raise public awareness of the needs of bereaved parents, and to destigmatize the subject of perinatal loss and bereavement. Although these events are tragic, they are also stories of strength and resilience, and it is the face of perinatal loss that the project strives to show. This initiative involved a group of individuals who have experienced perinatal loss, including infertility, miscarriage, termination, stillbirth and neonatal loss, to share their experiences and tell their stories of loss and grief through art-making.
Promoting Indigenous-centred research across Quebec
From Natasha Blanchet-Cohen
The Indigenous stream of the Youth Research Chair Network of Quebec promotes Indigenous-centred research across Quebec. As a network of researchers and Indigenous organizations, the stream embraces a participatory approach and collaborative ethos. A myriad of tools and knowledge inform policy, amplify the voices of Indigenous youth, support community efforts and create new pathways for research.
